Why Age 40+ Job Seekers Have Been Socially Programmed To Undersell Yourselves

Many of the challenges age 40, 50 and 60+ job seekers face can be reduced, even eliminated.

Some of these challenges become larger when age 40+ job seekers undersell yourselves.

Don't think you undersell yourself in your resume and interviews? Read on to see if you recognize any of these behaviors, because these are ways that nearly all age 40, 50, and 60+ job seekers communicate.

We communicate this way, because we can't help it. Baby Boomers and Gen X's were socially programmed to communicate this way by our parents and teachers.

We were taught to not brag about ourselves. Our parents and teachers scolded or even punished us if we bragged about ourselves. Bragging is heavily discouraged in religious teachings.

That's why, as adults, the one time we need to sell ourselves at our best, it seems unnatural, uncomfortable, and feels wrong. Because selling yourself at your best feels like boasting, something we were engineered as children to feel was wrong.

But selling yourself at your best isn't lying.

Selling yourself at your best on your resume and interview means avoiding describing what you did on an average day, but instead focusing employers on your best days and the greatest impacts you made.

Unfortunately, most age 40+ job seekers focus on responsibilities and experience, describing what you were supposed to do and your normal everyday activities. This undersells you and makes you look average.

But when you're age 40, 50 and 60+, you're viewed as a more expensive choice (and if you're willing to accept a lower salary, employers perceive lower performance, when you're over 40). At the same time, employers hire less expensive competitors for the jobs you seek, because they are less expensive (but because they are less experienced, employers view this as potential, rather than lower performance). Plus ... why should you accept less than you're worth?

You can overcome job search ageism, when you manage this basic conflict with employer decision making process, rather than ignoring it.

Recognize that every line of your resume and interview statement that you undersell yourself, lowers your value (and increases your risk) in a hiring manager's mind. This reduced value makes it more likely that they'll choose a less expensive/less experienced candidate, instead of you.

On the other hand, every line of your resume and statement in interviews that you sell yourself at your best, you increase your value and lower risk in that hiring manager's mind. This is what can make you appear too good to ignore, increasing the likelihood they'll hire you, even though you'll be more expensive than other qualified candidates in their 20's and 30's - because you'll be worth it.

This requires rewriting "the story in your head", the story you tell yourself about your career. This means editing how you think about your career, so that you think about and communicate what you did at your best.

You'd already be doing this if you knew how, so why not let me show you?

What if I showed you for free?

If you're an age 40, 50 or 60+ job seeker trying to make your job search faster or turn around a search that's taking too long, why not let me show you specialized solutions for age 40+ candidates? I'll teach you how to beat job search ageism showing you what to change in your resume, interview, and job search strategies to solve the unique challenges of job seekers over 40.

During my next free Resume Webinar, Beating Job Search Ageism, I'll show you how to overwhelm employers with so much impact, it'll make them think: "Wow, I need you on my team!" When we're done with that, I'll teach you other ways to overcome age bias, so you can accelerate your job search when you're 40, 50 or 60+.

Join me Saturday morning 10/5/24 at 11:00am ET/8:00am PT for my free Resume Webinar - Beating Job Search Ageism (enroll at https://x.resumewebinar.com/Registration at no charge) to learn how to overcome job search ageism and find your next job faster in 2024.

—

#jobs #resume #career #ageism